



r V 


















;^^:^ 



HE WAR WITH MEXICO. 



SPEECH 



HON. T. J. TURNER, OF ILLINOIS, 



IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, APRIL 6, 1848. 



The House beins in Committee of the Wliole on the 
state of the Union, on the Resolution to print ten thousand 
jxtra copies of the Coirespondeace bi^ween tlie War De- 
partment and Generals Scott ancfTaylor, and between Mr. 
Tiist and the Department of State- 
Mr. TURNER said: 

It is true, as the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. 
Stephens] has just remarked, " our country is in a 
peculiar condition," but this peculiarity does not 
consist in the fact of there being two parties in the 
country striving for the ascendency, with the view 
of elevating their respective favorites to the Presi- 
dency. The same thing has occurred every four 
years since the election of our first President; but 
it consists in the (act, that for the first time in our 
history, we have found ourselves with a conquered 
nation upon our hands. It is true that Mexico is, 
in the broadest sense of the term, conquered. Her 
armies are defeated and dispersed, her ports are in 
the possession of our navy, her cities and castles 
are garrisoned with our troops, her revenues are 
at our control, and our fltTg is floating from the 
spires of her capital, — and these all proclaim the 
consummation of our conquest; and whether right 
or wrong, the great fact exists, afid will forever 
mark a period in our history, to which coming 
generations will turn with pride and exultation, or 
with shame and confusion. 

Mr. Chairman, let us examine for a moment 
what kind of record the Whig party has made of 
these important events — events which will con- 
tinue to have a mighty influence for weal or for woe 
upon the future destiny of this country. Whether 
the ahnexaiion of Texas was the mediate or im- 
mediate cause of war, it is not my purpose to in- 
quire; yet all must admit it was that event that 
turned public attention to our aflTairs with Mexico. 
In 1843-'44, when the subject of reannexing Texas 
was before Congress and the country, the Whig 
party took ground against that measure, and pro- 
claimed from this Hall, from the other end of the 
Cajiitol, and from almost every Whig printing 
press in the country, that by amiexing Texas we 
robbed Mexico; that the act would not only be 
just cause for war on the part of Mexico, but that 
we adopted a war then existing between that coun- 
try and Texas. How much the speeches made 
upon that occasion by the Whigs did to inspire 
the Mexican people with confidence in their cause, 
it is not for me to inquire; but certain it is, that 
fnated^at the Congressional Globe Ollice. 



from similar speeches they borrowed the idea of 
the Nueces being the western boundary of Texas. 
Now, granting that the Whig party honestly en- 
tertained the views they expressed, it follows, as a 
matter of course, that tlie war was occasioned and 
commenced by the annexation of Texas, and con- 
sequently by the act of Congress — that measure 
being consummated by Congress, and not by the 
President; and, least of all, by the present Chief 
Magistrate, who found the "Lone Star" shining 
brightly in our great constellation when he took hia 
seat as President. 

Time passed, and in May, 1846, the President 
announced to Congress that a collision of arms 
had occurred, and called upon that body for men 
and money to avenge the wrongs sustained. Then 
spoke the human heart of the country. Stirred by 
the honest impulses of nature and of patriotism, 
even the Whigs forgot for a moment their party 
calculations, and ranged themselves on the side of 
humanity and the country. Under these holy in- 
fluences, they cast, with singular unanimity, a 
vote that will shine as a bright star over the desert 
of Federalism. I know Henry Clay said at Lex- 
ington that you had voted a lie upon that occasion. 
Believe him not. It is the only time you voted 
the truth upon that subject. It was then that war 
was declared upon our part. It was then, under 
the solemnities of an oath, you voted with the 
Democratic party that war existed by the act of 
Mexico. But now your tune is changed. The 
war is popular, and as there is another President 
to be elected, the issues must be changed. Mr. 
Polk's administration has risen to such colossal 
strength, that the whole artillery of Federalism 
must be brought to bear upon him and those who 
have stood by him and the country in its hour of 
trial; and therefore the same party and the same 
men who last year voted that the war existed by 
the act of Mexico, this year, under the same so- 
lemnities of an oath, voted that the war was un- 
necessarily and unconstitutionally brought on by 
the President of the United States. Here, then, 
we had three distinct and contradictory proposi- 
tions put forth and maintained by the Whig party, 
two of which must be false. But, Mr. Chairman, 
what was the army of 1846, for which the Whig 
party voted, raised for? Not to protect the fron- 
tier of Texas, but to wage war upon Mexico, 
and from that moment your Generals, Taylor and 
Scott, have either dictated or sanctioned every ito- 



c ^■ 



portant movement of the army, as will appear 
from the correspondence which you called out and 
now refuse to publish to the country. 

Sir, we are either at war or we are not at war 
with Mexico. If Congres? has not declared war, 
then are we not at war, for there is no other power 
given in the Constitution to declare war; and if 
Congress has not declared it, then indeed is the 
blood of the thousands slain in Mexico upon the 
heads of the President ar)d his coadjutors — Gen- 
erals Taylor and Scott, and the officers and men 
of the army; ay, sir, and upon yours too, for you 
voted to send them there, and furnished them with 
arms, ammunition, and money to carry on the 
war. I was struck with the poetical flight of the 
gentleman from Georgia, [Mr. Stephens,] who a 
few days since described, with so much force and 
beauty, the scene in Genera! Taylor's camp, on 
the night preceding the glorious battle of Buena 
Vista. Sitting around the council-fires, he imagined 
the Genius that presided over the birth of Wash- 
ington to be hovering around, to guide and protect 
that gallant little band. Did the gentleman reflect 
at that moment that he had solemnly voted that 
General Taylor and his brave army were prose- 
cuting an unjust and unconstitutional war? Sir, I 
have mistaken the character of theGeniusof Wash- 
ington, if it would descend from the skies to pre- 
side oyer the conclave of a band of robbers and 
assassins, who, for the paltry pay they were draw- 
ing from the Government, would, at the mere beck 
and call of James K. Polk, invade a sister repub- 
lic, and murder its inhabitants by their own fire- 
sides and altars! You charge it upon the Presi- 
dent: I charge it upon all alike who have aided in 
the matter, if the war is, as you say, unholy, un- 
just, unconstitutional, and unnecessary. But, sir, 
r do not believe it is either. You declared that 
defeat, disaster, and disgrace would follow in the 
train of our army. How has that prophecy been 
fulfilled.? Victory has followed victory, in such 
rapid succession, that the visions of romance have 
been more than realized, and nothing short of the 
approving favor of Jehovah could ka've led to such 
results. 

But, sir, while our country, as I before remarked , 
is in a peculiar condition, there are some circum- 
stances attending this war that are not so peculiar. 
In the war of the Revolution, when the patriots of 
that age were pouring out iheir life-blood to estab- i 
lish the independence of the country, there was a j 
large party among them who were constantly pre- j 
dieting defeat and disaster— who denounced the I 
war as unholy and wicked — whose hearts and sym- 
pathies were with the enemy, and whose prayers 
commenced with "God save the King!" and con- 
cluded with an anathema against Washington and 
the republican army. Those men were called To- 
ries. In the war of 1812, which was forced upon 
us by the aggressions of Great Britain, there was 
a party in the United States which resolved that 
"it was unbecoming a Christian people to rejoice 
' over the success of our arms and the defeat of the 
'enemy." They also resolved that that war " v/as 1 
•founded in falsehood, declared without neces.sity, 
• and its real object was extent of territory by un- 
'just conquests, and to aid the late tyrant of Eu- 
' rope in his views of aggrandizement." The pul- 
pit and the press, wherever in the hands of that I 
yif\rty, teemed with unmeasured abuse of the Presi- 1 



dent and the party who sustained' the war. They 
declared that the blood of all the slain would be 
upon the heads of Madison and those who con- 
tributed, either by their influence, their money, or 
their lives, to carry on the war. Their politicians 
declared that the treasury was bankrupt, and that 
the country would not raise the raeans to prose- 
cute the war. They held meetings to denounce 
the war and its authors, and lit up the ever-memo- 
rable blue lights along the Atlantic coast. That 
party and those men were called Federalists. Now 
that we are engaged in a war with Mexico, we 
find airiong us a large party who have resolved 
that this war was "unnecessarily and unconstitu- 
tionally brought on by the President;" that its 
real object was extent of territory by unjust con- 
quest; and who declare that "the Mexicans are 
in the right and we in the wrong;" that all our 
actions have been guided and governed by the 
devil; that "no duty can be more binding than to 
refuse the means to prosecute the war;" that "the 
war was begun in a perfidious and rascally attempt 
at President-making;'^ that we had unrighteously 
invaded Mexico, and that she was fighting for her 
altars, her firesides, and her religion. In short, from 
the pulpit, the press, the stump, and from the halls 
of Congress, the voice of sympathy for Mexico, 
and denunciation upon the President and those who 
sustain the war, is heard from one end of this Re- 
public to the other. This party and these men are 
called Whigs. I shall not stop to inquire whether 
there is any identity or connection between the 
parties I have described; nor whether the univer- 
sal sympathy of the Whig party with Mexico, and 
their condemnation of the war and its authors, 
have aided or comforted the enemy. I state the 
facts, and will leave the country to draw its own 
conclusions from them. 

But, Mr. Chairman, the opposition to the pres- 
ent war is to be found far back of the annexation 
of Texas. It had its origin in the old Federal no- 
tion of confining the limits of this Republic to the 
original thirteen States. Failing to establish their 
favorite system of government", they thought to 
enslave the people by the power of incorporations. 
The extension of our territory was unfavorable to 
that scheme, and hence the desperate opposition 
to the purchase of Louisiana, repeated at the pur- 
chase of Florida and the annexation of Texas, and 
again to be repeated upon the acquisition of Cali- 
fornia and New Mexico. 

The constitutional power of this Government to 
annex foreign territory, either by treaty or con- 
quest, has been denied by the leaders of the Federal 
party ever since the propositions for the purchase 
of Louisiana were submitted to Congress. I there- 
fore propose to examine for a few moments the 
provisions of the Constitution on that subject. 
Article fourth, section third, of the Constitution 
reads thus: 

'• Now Slate.=: may be admitted by the Congrosa into this 
Union ; but no new State stiall be formed or erected witliin 
the jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed 
by the junction of two or more Stales, or parts of States, 
witliout tlie consent of the Legislatures ot' tlie States con- 
cenied, as \vell as of the Congress." 

Here, then, we have the power to admit new- 
States clearly granted to Congress, with a restrict- ' 
ive clause in regard to two classes of ca.ses. The 
first is, that under no circumstances shall a new 
State be erected within the jurisdiction of any other 



State. The second restriction is, that two or more 
States or parts of States shall not be admitted into 
the Union as a new State without the consent of 
the Legislatures of the respective States out of 
which the new one is formed. 

Tiie wisdom of these restrictions became appa- 
rent at an early period, when Vermont apjilied for 
admission into the Union. But it is objected, that 
this section of the Constitution contemplated only 
the organization of new States out of the territory 
northwest of the Ohio, which had previously been 
ceded by Virginia in 1784. But, that the framers 
of the Constitution had not that territory in view, 
is proved by the fact, that by the very terms of the 
cession, it was provided that the territory should 
be divided and formed into new States. I will here 
read an extract from the articles of cession of March, 
1784 : 

"Provided, That the territory so cetlod shall he laid out 
and fortii(!(t into States contiiinin? a suituhle extent of ter- 
ritory not less than one hundred nor more than one hun- 
dred and fifty miles square, or as near thereto as circuni- 
sttinces will admit; and that the States so formed shall be 
distinct republican States, and ad:nltted mi^mbers of the 
Fi-'doral Union — having; the same rights of sovereignty, free- 
dom, and independence, as the other States." 

But we are not left to mere conjecture as to 
whether they had reference only to our domestic 
territory when they framed the third article; for 
the sixth article of that instrument provides as fol- 
lows: 

"All dfihts contracted and engagements entered into be- 
fore the adoption of this Constitution shall be as valid against 
the Unitftd States under this Constitution as under the Cuii- 
foderation." 

Under the Confederation, a solemn "engage- 
ment" had been entered into with Virginia, that 
all the territory ceded by her should be formed 
into States and admitted into the Union; and that 
embraced all the domestic territory we had when 
the Constitution, was adopted. What, then, did 
the framers of the Constitution have in view when 
they provided that "new States may be admitted 
by the consent of Congress into this Union?" It 
was clearly the purchase, the voluntary cession, 
the discovery or conquest, of foreign territory; and 
it is not surprising that the men who conceived the 
sublime idea of a republican government, deriving 
all its powers from the consent of the governed — 
men who conceived and put in motion a system at 
war with the spirit of all previously-established 
governments, but iti perfect harmony with the 
great truths of philosophy and Christianity — a 
system alike admirable for the simplicity of its 
operations, and the sublime results of its achiev- 
ments — a system that has not only built up State 
after State upon this continent, but has penetrated 
the heart of Europe, and inspired the people of 
France, of Italy, of Austria, and the Germanic | 
States, to throw off the yoke of tyranny, and to I 
demand the rights of freemen — a system that is I 
destined to destroy thrones and kingcraft, and j 
substitute republican governments throughout the i 
civilized world, — I say it is not surprising that 
those men should contemplate the extension of j 
our empire beyond the territories of the orisinal 
thirteen States. It is not surprising that they f )re- 
saw and provided for the purchase of territory such 
as Louisiana and Florida It is not surprising that 
they foresaw and provided for a case like Texas, 
where a brave little Republic, emulating our vir- 



tues and our heroism, should ask to throw her- 
self into the arms of her patron and her mother; 
and least of all is it surprising that they should 
foresee and provide for the extension of our bor- 
ders by conquest — the very tetiure by which, with 
the exception of the delegates from Pennsylvania, 
they held their own property and homes. 

Mr. Chairman, it may be answered that the In- 
dian tribes that our fathers drove out, and whose 
lands we now occupy, were savages, and unfit for 
freedom and civilization. Well, sir, if that is a 
reason why their country should be taken from 
them, I have the highest Whig authority for say- 
ing that " the people of New Mexico and Cali- 
fornia are in a more savage and degraded state 
than any of the Indian tribes: that the Chero- 
kees, the Choctaws, the Pawnees, the Blackfeet, 
the Snake, or the Flathead Indians, are much to 
be preferred to the people of New Mexico." This 
is the opinion of an influential "Whig. For my 
own part, I am inclined to think the picture is over- 
drawn; that the people of those provinces are not 
so digraded. But 1 contend that the same argu- 
ments now used against the acquisition of New 
Mexico and California, could have been used with 
equal force against the conquest and purchase of 
all the territories we have derived from the Indians. 
The land of New England, which has been called 
the cradle of liberty, was it not conquered from 
the Indian tribes? So with a large portion of the 
South. Penn, indeed, purchased the large State 
of Pennsylvania from the Indians, and since then 
large tracts of territory have been frequently pur- 
chased of them; but in the end, they have been 
driven out at the point of the bayonet. It is now 
said, " If we get any territory from Mexico, either 
by treaty or otherwise, it will be wrung from her 
against the consent of her people;" and it is prob- 
ably true that the Mexican people would prefer 
keep their territory; but is it not equally trueTI 
the Indian tril)es would have preferred to keep 
their territory? With what reluctance were they 
made to leave nortliern Pennsylvania, and Ohio, 
and Indiana, and Kentucky, and the South! I 
witnessed myself the removal of the Pottawato- 
mies, the Winnebagoes, and the Sioux, and how- 
ever it may wound the pride of Mexico to yield 
to US California and New Mexico, it will not wring 
their hearts as it'did the hearts of those savages 
when they turned their eyes for the last time upon 
their council-fires and the graves of their fathers. 
But the great law of necessity was upon them, as 
it is now upon Mexico. And who that is not 
governed by a sickly sentimentality, will for a mo- 
ment question the wisdom and the goodness that 
have directed and controlled those great events, 
which have changed this country from the haunts 
of savages to the homes of the most enlightened 
freemen upon earth? And I regard it as no less 
our right than our duty, to go on extending liberty 
and law over the provinces now occupied by those 
who are unable or unwilling to govern themselves. 

And, Mr. Chairman, I hold, that asidefrom the 
express grant of power to admit new States, the 
right of conquest is incident to, and inseparable 
from, the power to make war. No nation goes to 
1 war with another without some real or imaginary 
cause: it is either to resent an injury, or to recover 
or protect a right. It is difficult to conceive of a 
I case where the nation levying war could recover 



prob- - 
keep H 



precisely the rights which had been invaded. To 
illustrate more clearly: It would liave been diffi- 
cult, ndy impossible, for the American people, in 
case France had finally refused to pay the twenty 
millions of francs which were due our country, 
and which, for a time, threatened the peace of the 
two countries, — I say it would have been impossi- 
ble for our navy to have entered a French port and 
taken from thence twenty millions of francs, and 
have returned to their own country. If war had 
ensued on that occasion, we would have been com- 
pelled to the conquest of her merchant ships upon 
the ocean, and having commenced war to recover 
the right, necessity alone and the laws of war 
would have compelled us to have prosecuted that 
war. Not stopping with twenty millions of francs, 
but twenty times twenty millions, if needs be, 
would have been taken, until France should have 
acknowledged the superiority of our arms, and 
made a peace on honorable terms. So with Mex- 
ico; she would not restore to us demands due our 
citizens for roijberies she had committed upon 
them, and she could not specifically rcstqjp the 
livesof our citizens which she had wantonly taken; 
and refusing, as she did, to make reparation for 
the gross injuries we had received from her, she 
literally drove us into war. Now, as I before said, 
the specific things cannot be restored or conquered ; 
and, therefore, we must seize upon the ]iroperty and 
territory of Mexico, and compel hertodo usjustice. 
And I must confess that to my mind conquest, in 
some shape or other, is the only remedial clause in 
the laws of war. It is by that right alone that we can 
take and secure indemnity for the losses and inju- 
ries we have sustained, and without that riglit war 
is nothing more than national revenge. We have 
applied that remedy. We have conquered, and 
now hold absolutely under our control large prov- 
inces of Mexican territory; and the question no 
'lon-ger is, how much we shall take from Mexico, 
but how much shall we give hack to her, provided 
she will make peace. The territory and property 
which we have taken from Mexico, is absolutely 
ours, subject to our jurisdiction and control; pos- 
session and sovereignty are alike in our hands, 
and that extended over more country, probably, 
than we are willing permanently to annex. But 
so long as Mexico shall refuse peace, no one will^ 
question our ri^ht to hold on to our conquests; and 
it is for the United States, and not Mexico, to 
determine what portion shall be restored to that 
country. 

But, Mr. Chairman, aside from those general 
principles, what is the relation which now exists 
between Mexico and the United States? Is it not 
very similar to that of debtor and creditor ? Mex- 
ico, with an eflVontery unparalleled in the inter- 
course of nations, has stubbornly refused to carry 
out her treaty stipulations with us, and growing 
more insolent and haughty as our patience and for- 
bearance were further extended towards her, she 
literally compelled us to take up arms and fall back 
upon the last resort of nations. The consequence 
is, she is conquered; but she has exhausted her 
means by internal broils and in the prosecution 
of the war; she is therefore wholly unable to satisfy 
our demands in any other way than by parting 
with a portion of her territory. Now, how would 
it be in the case of two individuals similarly situ- 
ated? Would not the debtor's property be sold 



to satisfy not only the original debt, but the cofit 
of prosecution ? And the same sentimentality that 
weeps over our taking Mexican territory, would 
weep over the sale of an individual's property who 
had obstinately lefused the payment of a just debt 
until the creditor was compelled to collect his de- 
mands by law. 

Again, Mr. Chairman, I would inquire, what 
evil has resulted from the incorporation of the ex- 
tensive territories already annexed? And it does 
appear to me that the system has been in practice 
long enough to have brought forth some of the 
bitter fruits that it was said to contain, and yet I 
have failed to see the apfiroach either of evil or 
danger; and unless the spread of Democratic prin- 
ciples be regarded as such, I am disposed to be- 
lieve it will be difficult for the Whigs themselves 
to point out where the evil is; and I am led the 
more strongly to this belief from the fact, that no 
Whig on this floor has venturt d to assert that the 
country has been injured by former annexations. 
Will it be contended that no advantages have re- 
sulted from annexation? Do the commerce of the 
Mississippi, with its thousand tributaries, and the 
wealth and resources of Louisiana, Mississippi, Mis- 
souri, Arkansas, Florida, and Texas, add no thing to 
the general stock of national wealth and power? 
Have theachievementsof thebraveofficers and .sol- 
diers from those States added no thing to our military 
renown? Do the learning and ability of the Sen- 
ators and Representatives in Congress from those 
States add nothing to the character of our National 
Legislature? And who, sir, would be willing to 
see the territory embraced within those States^ to- 
gether with the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mex- 
ico, in the hands of Spain or of France? And yet 
the same objections that are urged against further 
acquisition existed with equal force against the ac- 
quisition of any of the territory alluded to. If the 
navigation of the Mississippi to the Gulf was ne- 
cessary for an outlet to the trade of the upper 
country, so is the bay of San Francisco necessary 
for an inlet to the trade of the east. -And who is 
prepared to say, if that country should be incor- 
porated into this Union, there would not in a few 
years spring up cities and towns along the coast 
equal to New Orleans, and those which dot the 
margins of the Mississippi? Why, sir, if those 
gentlemen who foresee such danger from the ex- 
tension of our territory westward' would take the 
trouble to travel into that country, and see the pro- 
gress of civilization in those regions, where, but a 
few years since, the smoke of the wigwam and the 
vvhoop of the Indian were the only evidences that 
humanity had its alinde there, and see the cities 
and villages alive with commerce and manufac- 
tures, the farms, the dwellings, the orchards, the 
schoolhouses, the churches, and the people, they 
would lose all their sickly fears of dancer from 
that quarter. Sir, it is not from spreading out our 
population over the great fields of the West that 
this Republic has anything to fear. If time would 
permit, I should like to trace to their source one 
or two subjects, which, to my mind, are the only 
questions fraught with danger to this Union — 
questions of the most absorbing interest, wbicli 
may lead to a rupture between tlie North and the 
South. It would be found that those questions did 
not originate in the new States of the West. But 
where, except to the West, would the country 



look for s<-\fety,ir, by abliiid fcinalicism of the abo- 
litionisis of the North and the ultra slave party of 
the South, they should sink all other considera- 
tions in the all-absorbing idea of slavery or no 
slavery upon this continent? You would then see 
that the conservative power of this nation exists 
precisely where your fears and your prejudices 
conjure up doubts and dangers. 

Who can estiinate the advantages which have 
resulted to our Republic from the purchase of Lou- 
isiana, which opened to us the rich valley of the 
Mississippi? or of Florida and Texas, which gave 
us the control of the Gulf, and territory sufficient 
to support an empire? Or who will attempt to 
calculate the value of New Mexico and California, 
with bays and harbors destined to be filled with 
the commerce of the Pacific? And yet there has 
ever been a party in this country who have pre- 
dicted ruin and disaster at every acquisition we 
have made. The gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Root] 
even informed us that the Anglo-Saxon was a race 
of land robbers, and that we were illustrating their 
character in an eminent degree. Whether he allu- 
ded to his own ancestors or to the ancestors of the 
rest of this body, I will not stop to inquire. I 
know not what the Anglo-Saxon race may do, but 
it requires no spirit of prophecy to foresee that 
this Republic is destined to extend its borders from 
ocean to ocean, until the surrounding nations shall 
either follow the example of Texas or learn of us 
virtue and republicanism sufficient to govern them- 
selves. And when we contrast the progress of the 
Northern colonies with those of the Southern, we 
can clearly see that v/hile we have filled the highest 
destiny of man upon earth, in all that regards sci- 
ence, literature, arts, and government, the Spanish 
colonies have dragged out a sickly existence, with- 
out making one progressive ste|i; and but for an 
event like the present war, would have continued 
forever in a lethargic state. 

Sir, extension and expansion are preenninently 
democratic, but the anti-war Whigs prefer the 
government of corporations. The great West has 
found an outlet for our people, and thus has frus- 
trated their designs. But circumscribe our limits, 
give corporations the controlling influence, and 
white shivery will be substituted for black. Of 
this we have evidences in England and in Massa- 
chusetts; for wherever corporations rule, the great 
mass of the people are enslaved. 

The annexation of all the territory contemplated 
either by the terms of the treaty or by those who 
would have indemnity for the past and security for 
the future, is no more than justice demands and 
national honor requires; and this, Mr. Chairman, 
leads me to the last point I wish to discuss upon 
this occasion, and that is, the charge made against 
Mr. Polk, that he had, from the first, contempla- 
ted the absorption of the whole of Mexico. This 
charge has been gravelyput forth, and scarcely a 
speech has been made on the other side of the 
House or on the Whig side of the Senate that did 
not atteiupt to prove that such was the rapacity and 
ambition of the President that nothing short of the 
whole of Mexico would satisfy him; and when the 
President, like Washington and Adams on similar 
occasions, for wise and good reasons, refused to 
furnish to this House his private instructions to 
Mr. Slidell, the clamor was loud and high that 
those instructions contained the evidence of his 



guilt, and therefore he dare notfurni.sh them to the 
House; and they finally rested their case upon that 
as the only evidence they had of his ambitious in- 
tentions. Well, Mr. Chairman, those instructions 
have since been published, and any person who 
will take the trouble to read them will learn two 
important facts: the first is, that Mr. Polk acted 
wisely in view of the great changes which had 
occurred in the position of the two countries, to 
withhold from publication those instructions. The 
second is, that Mr. Polk never contemplated the 
absorption of the whole of Mexico, nor any part 
of it, unless Mexico wished to sell us some of her 
northern provinces. 

It has been charged, as I before remarked, that 

evidence of the President's ambitious designs upon 

Mexico would be disclosed when his instructions 

to Mr. Slidell should be published; and to show 

with what earnestness and bitterness that charge 

was made, I propose to read an extract from a 

speech made upon this floor a few days since by 

the gentleman from Georgia, [Mr. Stephens.] 

j Sjieaking of the refusal of the President to furnish 

1 this House with his instructions to Mr. Slidell, he 

j says: 

"I sliall not iiiont tliR quo^lion of tiis power to withhold 
those iiislriKtioiis rroiti tlii.s House and the people. ] know 
we have no power to compel their production. BiU I siib- 
niit it to this House and the people, whether it is not [he 
exercise of Executive power hordering on "royal preroya- 
■ live," as the eloquent gentleman from Missrssi|ipi [Mr. 
I ToMPKiNi] said the other day, to withliolil from liiem and 
I their representatives information so imporlaiit in r( hilion to 
I the ori'.'in and eanse of this war ' 1 -nhniit to them, :ilst 
I vvhctlier l!i.' r.-i-n,, ;i- il'ii. d for h Mlili. Idiii;.' them i 
j tiling' hut 11 f.y.t.in II 111. V .nniiMir,! iiothiris hnl 
was Ikjmui.iI.Ii'. |ii~i, Iiuiii>i. .uhI ri;;lii. as they should 
could tlitjr pnldii mUoii nijiire our inlircst or cause 
j Mexico, or any l-iody (Isi;.' It would rather have the con- 
trary eflecl.hy pkicim.' us in the right and them in the wrong 
before the cjvilized world. Tlie secret of this matter, I ai>- 
prehend, is the fear of personal exposure. And he has a 
much letter -protection, I doubt not, than the prcceileiit uliich 
he quotes affords hi,n, in that clause of the Constitulion which 
provides that no jiosori 'shall lie compelled in ami criminal 
j case to he a icitness against himself.' I had \in little hope, 
I when the resolutioi'i passed ral'linu for those ih-tmitinns 
i that we should get Ihem. I brlirved then, as 1 d.i imw . that 
I they contained secrets connected with the origin of tl.is war 
; that he dare not puhlish— not from any fi ar (dWfixicn— that 
I is idle, absurd, and preposterous— Mexico is pro>trale.sl;e is 
i at our mer(y-l)til from a fear of tlie Ameiiean prople. I 
j had quite as little hope, also, of getting the fads in rcl ition 
to the return of Santa Aima. I had no idea'tliat a man who 
h.ad so repeatedly oiitra!;<'d and insulted the intilli^ene(> of 
this country and tliis aire l)y the misstatement and distortion 
of facts well known, would make a lull disc Insure of all the 
circumstances attending a secret trausaition so litlh to his 
credit as this intrigue with Santa Aima Who, sir. in this 
1 House believes the President in his message upon this sub- 
: ject?" 

What is the qtiestion at issue that has called 
down upon the head of the President siith unmeas- 
j ured abuse? Simply his refusal to furnish to this 
House what he soys would be incomp.'<tible with 
the public interest. In his refusal he did nothing 
more than Washington did under similar circum- 
1 stances; and from the following extracts from that 
I correspondence, which I propose to submit to the 
' House, it will be apparent that sound public policy 
[ required, that while negotiations for peace were 
pending, those instructions should not be made 
j public, for it is well known that whatever is pub- 
lished in this House soon finds its way into Mex- 
ico; and if the importance the President attaches 
to the purchase of the bay of San Francisco should 
be made known to Mexico, it would induce them 



^•"id 
ion 



to hold out for the most exorbitant terms, as will 
appear from the followine; extract: 

"The possession of the bay and harbor of San Francisco 
is all-important to the United States. The advantages to us 
of its acquisition are so striking that it would be a waste of 
tiine to enumerate them here. If all these should be turned 
against our country by the ces.-ion of California to Great 
Britniri, our principal commercial rival, the consequence 
would be most di.-astrous. The (iovcrnnient of California 
is now but nominally dependant on Mexico ; and it is more 
than doubtful whether her autliority will ever be reinstated. 
Under these circumstances, it is the desire of the President 
that )ou sliould use your best etlbrts to obtain a cession of 
that province from Mexico to the United .States. Could you 
accomplish this object, you would render immense service 
to your country, and establish an enviable reputation for 
yourself. Money would be no object wher. compared vntli the 
valueofthc acquisition. Still, the attempt must be made with 
great prudence and caution, and in such a manner as not to 
alarm the jealousy of the Mexican Government. Should you, 
after sounding the Mexican authorities on the subject, dis- 
cover a prospectof success, the President would notheHlate 
to give, in addition to the assumption of the just claims of 
our citizens on Mexico, twenty-five millions of dollars for 
the ces-Kiou." 

Then, after authorizing Mr. Slidell to make sev- 
eral other offers, as the exigency of the case might 
require, he says: 

'« I need scarcely add, that in authorizing the offer of five 
millions, or twenty-five millions, or twenty millions of dol- 
lars, these are to he considered as maximum sums. If you 
can accomplish either of the objects contemplated for a jess 
amount, so much more satisfactory will it prove to the Presi- 
dent." 

Now, sir, would not the publication of these in- 
structions apprize the Government of Mexico of 
the importance the President attached to theacqui- 
|ition,and the large sum he was willing to pay for 
'?J' And with that knowledge before them, would 
lies Mexican Government ever consent to part with 
'fne territory at any price short of the President's j 
maximimi.' And would any President be true to 
the best interests of the country who would fur- i 
nish such information .' The case in point is so I 
forcible that it must carry conviction to every can- j 
did mind, that the President not only acted wisely i 
in refusing the information, but that sound policy ' 
required that such communications should be kept 
secret until all negotiations are closed on the sub- 
ject. And who but the President himself, who 
alone has knowledge of what the document con- ! 
tains, shall judge of the time and expediency of j 
making it public' And I believe the unqualified ' 
resolution calling for the instructions would not I 
have pa.ssed this House, had not many of those who ; 
voted for the resolution believed that the President | 
had wisdom and foresigbt enough to prevent his : 
making anything public that would be likely to i 
embarrass negotiations. j 

This corres|)ondence, to use the language of the | 
gentleman from Georgia, [Mr. Stephens,] has the ' 
effect of " placing us (the Admini-stration) in the 
right and them (the Whigs) in the wrong." I 
will now submit a few extracts, to show the utter \ 
groundlessness of the charge made by the gentle- 1 
man from Georgia [Mr. Stephens] and others, 
that "the fearof personal exposure" was the reason 
of his withholding the instructions. I 

But ijefore proceeding to read the extracts, let ! 
me call the attention of the House to what I con- , 
ceive to be the respective powers and duties of the 
President and of Congress over the subject. In 
thfr first article and eighth section of the Constitu- 
tion, it is provided that " the Congress shall have 
' power to declare war, grant letters of marque and 



♦ reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on 
' land and water." In the second se'ction of the 
second article, it is provided that " he (the Presi- 
' dent) shall have power, by and with the advice 
' and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, pro- 
' vided two-thirds of the Senators present concur; 
' and he shall nominate, and, by and with the ad- 
' vice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint am- 
' bassadors, other public ministers, and consuls." 
Now, while the war-making power is exclusively 
vested in Congress, the treaty-making power is 
as exclusively vested in the President and Senate; 
and no one will contend that the President, though 
as much a coordinate branch of the Government as 
the House of Representatives, would have a right 
to call upon this body for iiiformation concerning 
that which we thought it to be our duty to keep 
secret; and yet there would not be that danger 
from communicating the secrets of the House to 
the President that there would be in communi- 
cating those of the President to the House. In 
the first instance, the information would be com- 
municated to an individual; in the second, to a 
popular body, and there to be spread upon the 
Journals of Congress. Now, what was Mr. Sli- 
dell sent to Mexico for.' His mission was one of 
no ordinary character. The relations of peace 
and good understanding had been broken off be- 
tween the United States and Mexico; all diplo- 
matic relations had ceased; all former treaties 
and commercial arrangements were abrogated; and 
the two nations, though not actually at war, were 
completely estranged from each other, politically 
and commercially. With the hope of restoring 
peace and a good understanding with that country, 
Mr. Slidell was sent out to make, if possible, a 
treaty of peace, amity, and commerce, and to re- 
store that good feeling which the President was 
most anxious should exist between the two repub- 
lics. Mexico had agreed to settle all the questions 
in dispute by negotiation; and the object of Mr. 
Slidell 's mission was to make a treaty, and nothing 
else. The unhappy relations of the two countries, 
the correspondence between that Government and 
Mr. Black, and the instructions to Mr. Slidell, all 
prove, conclusively, that a treaty was the sole ob- 
ject of that mission. Then, under what pretext 
has this House the right to ilemand of the Presi- 
dent to deliver into our hands the treaty-making 
power.' Or, in other words, what right have we, 
before a treaty is consummated, to compel the 
Pi-esident to furnish us with all the reasons and 
arguiTients which he puts into the mouth of his 
comiTiissioner, to induce Mexico to accept terms.' 
What right have we to compel the President to 
publish to the world, through the Journals of Con- 
gress, his graduated scale of proposals to that 
Government.' But, sir, it is said there is a clause 
in the Constitution which requires the President 
from time to time to give information to Congress. 
So there is; but there is no constitutional provision 
which requires him to furnish Congress with the pri- 
I vate arguments he may authorize a commissioner to 
! employ for the purpose of negotiating a treaty, no 
, more than the President could compel us to furnish 
! hiiTi with our reasons for passing a bill before he 
would sign it. Sir, to my mind, this question in- 
[ volves deeper interests than the mere information 
! sought for. It looks to me very much like an at- 
, tempt to destroy the independence of a coordinate 



branch of this Governtnent; to seize upon the 
treaty-making; power, and appropriate it to this 
House, or, what is the same thing, place it under 
our supervision. And, sir, while I would resist 
the encroachments of Executive power upon Con- 
gress, I would resist with equal pertinacity the 
encroachments of Congress upon the Executive, 
or upon subjects wliich the Constitution has placed j 
exclusively under the jurisdiction and control of 
the President. They are alike encroachments 
upon the Constitution itself. But I have dwelt 
longer upon this branch of the subject than I in- 
tended, and shall now proceed to read the extracts 
from the instructions to Mr. Slidell: 

" In the present crisis of ihe relations between the two 
countries, the office for which you li;ive been selected is 
one of great importance. To eouiitei;ict the influetiees of 
foreizn Powers exerted against ihe ijilerests of the United 
Slates in Mexico, and to restore tiiose ancient relations of 
peace and good will which formerly existed between the 
Government and people of the sister republics, will be the 
principal objects of your mission." 

After stating the condition of the Mexican peo- 
ple and the qualifications of Mr. Slidell, he says: 

" Unfortunate events have sinoe estranged from us the 
sympathit s of the Mexican people. They oujiht to feel as- 
sured that tiieir prosperity is otir prosperity, and that we 
cannot but have the strongest desire to see them elevated 
under a free, st;;ble, and republican government, to a high 
rank among the nations of the earth." 

Again, after enumerating our claims against 
Mexico, he says: 

" It will he vour duty, in a prudent and friendly spirit, to 
impress the Mexicans with a sense of their great injustice 
towards the United States, as well as of the patient forbear- 
ance exercised by us. This cannot be expeetiMl to endure 
much longer; and these claims must now speedily be ad- 
justed in a satisfactory manner. Alre.idy have the Govern- 
ment of the United States too long omitted to obtain redress 
for their injured citizens. 

"But in what manner can this duty be performed con- 
sistently with the amicable spirit of your niis>ion ? The fact 
is but ton \v('ll known to the world, that the Mexican Gov- 
ernment are not now in a condition to satisly these claims 
by the piiyment of iiioiwy. Unless llic debt should be as- 
siimed hy the Government of the United Slates, tlie elaini- 
Riits cannot receive what is justly their due. Fortunately, 
the joint resolutions of Congress, approved March 1, 1845, 
for annexing Texas to the United States, presents the niL'ans 
of satisfving these elaims in perfect consisfncy with the 
interest, as well as the honor, of both repulilics. It lias re- 
served to tliis Government the adjustmentof all (lUfstioii;; of 
boundary that may arise with other Governments. This 
question of boundary may, therefore, be adjusted in such a 
manner between the two republics as to cast the burden of 
the debt due to American claimants on their own Govern- 
ment, whilst it will do no injury to Mexico." 

He then authorizes Mr. Slidell, in case Mexico 
wishes to part wilh a portion of her territory, to 
give five millions of dollars, in addition to the 
assumption of the debt, for a boundary " from the 
« mouth of the Rio Grande up the principal stream 
'to the point where it touches the line, of New 
' Mexico; thence west of the river, along the ex- 
* terior line of that province, and so as to include 
« the whole within the United States, until it again 
' intersects the river; thence up the principal stream 



' of the same to its source, and thence due north 
' until it intersects the forty-second degree of north 
'latitude." He is then authorized to pay them, 
in addition to the assumption of our claims, twenty- 
five millions of dollars for a boundary that will 
include Monterey, on the Pacific, or twenty mil- 
lions for a boundary to include the bay of San Fran- 
cisco. And then, as if to impress more strongly 
upon the mind of Mr. Slidell the peaceable charac- 
ter of his mission, he says: 

"Your mission is one oC the most delicate and important 
which has ever been coniided to a citizen of the United 
States. The people to whom you will be sent are prover- 
bially jealous, and they have been irritated against the United 
Slates by recent events and the intrigues of foreign Powers. 
To conciliate their good will is indispensable to your sue- 
eesa. I need not warn you against wounding their national 
vanity. You may probably h.Tvu to endure their unjust 
reproaches wilh equaniniily. It would be difficult to raise 
a point of honor between the United Stales and so feeble 
and distracted a Power as Mexico. This reflection will 
teach you to bear and forbear much, for the sake of accom- 
plishing the great objects of your mission. IVe are sincerely 
demons to he on ^ood tcrins with Mexico, and the President 
reposes implieit confidence in your patriotism, sagacitj', and 
ability to restore the aneienl relations of friendship between 
the iwo republics." 

Now, Mr. Chairman, you will perceive that the 
President was willing almost to compromise the 
honor of the country to restore a state of peace and^ 
amity. He proposes to accept as it were a barley- 
corn, a mere quit-rent, if Mexico will enter again 
into the bonds of friendship and peace. He pro- 
poses, if they wish to sell a portion of their terri- 
tory, to jnty them the highest price therefor; but 
especially charges Mr. Slidell that the great object 
of his mission was the restoration of peace and 
amity between the two countries. The mission 
failed to attain its object, war ensued, and the 
whole country is now conquered, and we have a 
right to dictate the terms of peace. And a?ain 
the President has shown his anxious desire that 
Mexico should retain her nationality, by siil^mit- 
ting a treaty, illegally made, to the Senate for its 
ratification. By that treaty, I under.-stanil, we are 
to have New Mexico and Upper California; and, 
sir, when the revilers of Mr. Polk and his admin- 
istration shall have been forgotten; when the de- 
scendants of those who have opposed the war, 
and comforted the enemy by declaring that they 
were fighting for their homes, their firesides, their 
altars, and their religion, against an ambitious 
tyrant, who was waging against them an unjust 
war; when they shall deny that their fathers were 
the authors of the speeches that nerved the arms 
of the enemy and cast a gloom over the hofies of 
their own country, — the name of James K. Polk, 
connected with the great achievements of his ad- 
ministration, will be cherished in the hearts of one 
hundred millions of freemen, who will be sjiread 
over the face of this republic, enjoying the bless- 
ings of a free and happy people, and his adminis- 
tration will be turned to as one of the brightest 
pages in our country's history. 



W46 









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